As part of the conversation on the thread about Guro Lonely Dog's camp in Switzerland, requests were made for me to do one here. We started planning it there, but with this post I now give it its own thread.

WIth everything going on with regard to the Nat Geo documentary finally over, I am free to return to semi-regularly scheduled events such as my semi-annual DBMA Camps.

These camps typically are for DB Tribe and DBMA Association members, but for what I have planned for this Camp i think allows me to have some slots for friends of the Tribe/Ass'n.

One of the first things to decide is the number of days and the dates in question. We are looking at 2-4 days, on June 26, 27, 28-29 depending. My logic is that this will put us abut 6 weeks before the Gathering.

Is there any interest in my bringing in Bruno Cruicchi of Venezuela to do some teaching? Although I am not personally familiar with him, be comes well recommended to me-- and I have seen some interesting footage of Venezuela systems-- there does seem to be something distinctive there. Bruno and I have chatted on the phone a couple of times, so if there is interest from those who will be attending, to spice things up with a fresh perspective on things I could ask him if he would like to come in (he lives in Florida as well as Venezuela)

I am available for any events for the camp on the 26th and 27th. I have a research retreat for my graduate work starting on the 28th from 8am-5pm and running through the 4th of July , so I could only make the first two days if the camp turns out to be a four day event.

Guro Crafty, is this going to be like the previous camps that are featured in the gallery on the public site? Multiple DBMA and guest instructors, all covering some topic relavant to DBMA? Also, what kid of material would Bruno Cruicchi be covering? Any location(s) in mind? Sorry. Lots of questions for something that obviously takes a great deal of time and energy to plan, but this is very exciting!

Bruno is my personal instructor. I'd say his time in the arts (well over 45 years), world travel, and deep passion for training make him someone you should meet and train with. He can teach a number of systems but variations of Venezuelan Martial Arts will no doubt fit in with the DogBrothers methods.Any questions,... please ask!

ryangruhn, what kind of ground work do you do? (train under, i guess that's what i'm trying to say . . .)

Crafty, what about two - two day sessions. . . .

Rio, I am a blue belt under De La Riva and my main training partner is Jeff Rockwell; Brown Belt in the DLR Association. I have also been in the CSW scene for the last decade but didn't really get into the BJJ crowd until a few years ago.

I have caught a severe case of the cooties (a.k.a. the flu) from my daughter and have been laid up for 4 days now. This coming week should have us posting more concretely about this. Thank you for your patience.

Sure Marc,Bruno Cruicchi is the man I call my instructor. He has been doing martial arts for over 40 years. He is Italian/Armenian and born in Cairo. He lives in Caracas, Venezuela, and Miami, Florida. We met through a silat email list several years ago and have been friends ever since. He is the mentor to our Miami based training group. He teaches many arts but focuses on the Venezeulan ones with our group. Personally he and I discuss blade and silat. His training is in Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Indonesian, Venezuelan, Chinese, Indian and Euro or Western arts. His primary focus is Venezuelan, Filipino, Indo, and TaiChi (Chen). His is a textbook of international travel, martial arts, styles and people. He knew Don Draeger and lives a similar lifestyle. He can root out the oddest sources of martial arts from Stick Lickin' in the Islands to Portuguese Staffwork, to African Testa. He can give you an outline and a story about the instructor as well. Bruno makes his living as a linguist and speak 8 languages fluently,,, probably many more if pushed. I predict that the infusion of Venezuelan Stick and Blade will have the same impact as Thai Arts or BJJ on DBMA,.. it is that POTENT as a source of full contact material. He can start with the story of training in Indian Weaponry with his Silat instructor, or his entry into a French LaCanne Tournament using Venezuelan methods or his honeymoon trip to Paris and his meeting with the Adityo Hanafi Sumatran Tiger Silat Clan,,,,,... but you will have to buy the coffee or beer,... It will be a long night and you will tire before him. He is of course,.. The International Man of Mystery.

Don't pass this up. DBMA will never be the same. The methodology will change, as will the footwork,,, trust me.----- Tom Furman

Hi guysMy name is Bruno Cruicchi and I am really glad,to finally be able to join this forum.I also must say that I appreciate what Tom Furman has written about me.It flatters me to be called ..what..a man of Mystery..WOW I dont really feel like one.Just a guy who has dedicated most of his life to Martial arts,like many of you,and who still feels like a kid in a candy store.It is like a fever ,you cant get rid of it,you can only feel relief and a sense of accomplishment everytime you discover something new,Something to share with others.I have been a facilitator all my life,professionally as a Language Professor,and on a vocational basis with Martial arts.Just to share a few things with you,I started Judo when I was 12 years old,because of my Father who got tired of my whining about being bullied in school.He completed my training with some of the Unarmed Combat he had learned as a soldier in WWII (Africa),From then on I experienced many things in the streets of Cairo.Like using my head(no pun intended)for fighting since headbutts are the rule in the middle east.Egyptian Tahtib,or stick fighting was an art I often witnessed over there,I was also the first guy in 1976,with the guidance of Don Dreager,to open a Dojo where 7 different Martial arts were being taught,at a time when most teachers were really possessive and literally forbade their students to study different Martial arts.I was heavily criticized then as I am now for being too open with my teachings.I could go on for a long time,but I refuse to do so without a beer in front of me or maybe I will settle for coffee..............Oh,and I would really feel honored to be able to share some of my Garrote,the Venezuelan stick fighting art,where after quite a few years of training I feel I have only scratched the surface .Talk to you soon guysBruno

Bruno,What a fascinating combination of martial training you have. I have seen a little of a Venezuelan martial art using machete, perhaps it was similar to Garrotte?I suspect I will not be making it to the DBMA camp, but if you ever find yourself a little further north here in the Bay Area, please be sure to let us know!

« Last Edit: March 05, 2008, 08:52:08 AM by maija »

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It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first. Miyamoto Musashi.

Thank you Sisco,I look forward to seeing you if the camp takes place.and to you too Meijia.To answer your question what you have seen on u tube is Garrote adapted to the machete.Meijia may I ask where you live?What do you practice?Bruno

Not to interrupt Maija's answer, but I just wanted to take a moment to comment on your introduction(s). It reads like you have a wealth of knowledge to share. I have a college commitment on the 28th and 29th, but hopefully Guro Marc will make the camp a four day camp and I can come on the 26th and 27th. Even if I don't get to meet you this time, it reads like you have a LOT to offer and I look forward to your contributions to DBMA.

Hi Bruno,I'm based in Oakland CA. My primary arts are Visayan Corto Kadena Eskrima of maestro Sonny Umpad, and Gao style Bagua Zhang from Luo De Xiu of Taipei. I also practice Toyama Ryu Battodo under Sensei Mike Esmialzadeh aswell as Chen Pan Ling and Wu style Tai Chi. I used to foil fence as a kid, and honestly all edged weapon arts make me happy The first time I noticed Venezuelan martial arts was an article in The Journal of Asian Martial Arts, can't remember which issue I'm afraid. The photos showed some cool hand switching, nice and deceptive.....I'd be interested in learning more about it for sure.

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It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first. Miyamoto Musashi.

Hi Bruno,I'm based in Oakland CA. My primary arts are Visayan Corto Kadena Eskrima of maestro Sonny Umpad, and Gao style Bagua Zhang from Luo De Xiu of Taipei. I also practice Toyama Ryu Battodo under Sensei Mike Esmialzadeh aswell as Chen Pan Ling and Wu style Tai Chi. I used to foil fence as a kid, and honestly all edged weapon arts make me happy The first time I noticed Venezuelan martial arts was an article in The Journal of Asian Martial Arts, can't remember which issue I'm afraid. The photos showed some cool hand switching, nice and deceptive.....I'd be interested in learning more about it for sure.

Toyama Ryu Battodo ..Military sword huh? I think I need to take my Toyama Ryu Remei Honbu and we should battle!

Hi Bruno,I'm based in Oakland CA. My primary arts are Visayan Corto Kadena Eskrima of maestro Sonny Umpad, and Gao style Bagua Zhang from Luo De Xiu of Taipei. I also practice Toyama Ryu Battodo under Sensei Mike Esmialzadeh aswell as Chen Pan Ling and Wu style Tai Chi. I used to foil fence as a kid, and honestly all edged weapon arts make me happy The first time I noticed Venezuelan martial arts was an article in The Journal of Asian Martial Arts, can't remember which issue I'm afraid. The photos showed some cool hand switching, nice and deceptive.....I'd be interested in learning more about it for sure.

Hi MaijaGuru Umpad was one of the persons I had always wanted to meet,after reading his book.Unfortunately,the persons I contacted through time were always very evasive as to his whereabouts and by the time someone directed me to the Bay area,he was already gone.As to the article in The Journal of Asian Martial Arts,it was written by me,with the help of my good friend Bob Orlando who I highly respect as a Kuntao man and as a great and generous guy.BrunoPS If talking about Guru Umpad falls outside this trend please direct me to a source of info about him and his style.I heard he was a great dancer,since Garrote is very footwork oriented I am sure he would have enjoyed it

I met Bruno a few years ago, through a silat list (he was interested in getting my teacher from KL over to Sth America). Then, a couple of years ago, he was in London and we met in person. (I always think it sounds really geeky to admit to having met someone through the internet but Bruno is very cool ).

By trade I am a German teacher at high school, but Bruno's German is better than mine, despite my being able to fool Germans into thinking that I am a German! That is only 1 of the 8 he speaks. I remember mentioning to him that I was learning Bahasa Melayu (Malaysian) and he replied: "That's cool, but the problem is you can't really swear in Malay, not like in Russian!" Obviously, his language skills are awesome, but his knowledge and skills in MA are off the charts!

The little bit of Garrote Larense that he showed me was very cool, and very different from eskrima (say like the difference between Karate and Wing Chun) even though they use a similar weapon. DB training always emphasises the need to defend the head, by contrast Bruno made it clear to me how vulnerable your balls are to someone who is really adept at a rising, vertical strike. (Somehow, you know that you might be able to take one or two to the head- it is made of bone afterall - but I, for one, do not like the idea of blocking a stick with my genitals even once! )

Obviously, I highly recommend training with him - I've been trying to get him to come back to England for the last few years.

Hi JonWhat a pleasent surprise!!!!!!I still remember fondly the small park close to Foyles in London where we trained for a while,and the wary looks on peoples faces when they came near us!!!!!!!...I picked up some swearing in Bahasa but its still mild compared to Russian......You know guys,one of the cool things about MA is that people remember you not so much because of your eyes or the shape of your nose but by things like.....WOW what a strangle hold that guy has! or you know he knocked me out so fast...that wow I have to get that method of striking ..and so on and Jon remembers me among other things because of my ability to strike peoples genitals..LOLJon I think I will be able to come your way in late September/Oct drop me an email privately.Good to hear from you and Thank youBruno

One of the first decisions is whether this will be a two or a three day camp. With Bruno coming in, I would love for it to be three days, but would like to get a sense of how many people would come for three days.

So, who is in for three days?

PS: I've edited the name of this thread to include the dates in question to help clue people in.

I have a grad school commitment that weekend from 8-5, both days. If the event turns out to be three days, I would really like to come to the camp for the 27th, if I might be allowed to attend for only one day. If the third day does not come about, or that is not an option and participants need to come for all three days, I will hope to see everyone at the next DBMA camp.

This weekend also turned into a DBMA DVD shoot featuring Bruno. The DVD will be an introduction to Garrote Venezolano with lots of footage of the old masters in Venezuela sparring and with Bruno teaching some of the distinctive footwork of GV.

I'm glad everything turned out well. I look forward to your observations and creative input on this material. I've discussed this at length with Ray Floro (machete, fencing footwork, Garrote, etc ). He has recently been influenced by Japanese Sword and mentioned that the old Illustrisimo machete material was REALLY good as well. Interesting that the Spanish Fencing pops up in the Phillipines and in Venezuela.

Glad you hooked up with the Tapado player that Bruno mentioned. It's important to keep our sources open. Look for some Silat, with material very close to the source,.. in South Florida this year. We may have something brewing!

Mr. Bruno is a very cool guy and VERY humble. the little bit i was able to train from him from the weekend was good stuff. it was really cool for me to train a bit of the methods that mr. bruno has learned from, as he would say, the ''old masters''. i hope i'll have the oppurtunity be able to train more with him sooner than later.

I had the pleasure of training and exchanging ideas with Bruno for a few days last week. It was absolutely fascinating, and also inspiring to be introduced to the relatively unknown art of Garrote Larense.Bruno has had a vast and varied career in many diverse systems from around the world and has a great enthusiasm for all things martial, but the Garrote is something special.To find an art that is a TRULY ambidextrous, BLADE based art is indeed rare, and to watch footage of the old masters gave me much food for thought, and got my mind working on all kinds of new training ideas There seem to be many cross over points between the system I train (Visayan Corto Kadena Eskrima) and Garrote, which is not surprising since the primary weapons of each system are very similar, however, the flavor, the stances, the attitude, the training methodology are distinctly different. For this reason, the all too few days spent with Bruno were totally engrossing and I only wish there had been more time. I look forward to the forthcoming DVD and appreciate the work Crafty and Night Owl are doing to preserve old knowledge and educate us about the rich weapons systems of the world.

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It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first. Miyamoto Musashi.

Woof Marc and guysI am finally back home.actually have been back for 6 days,but had to catch up with work and finalize preparations for my Daughters \wedding.Thank God all went well and I can now express my gratitude to Guru Marc and his wonderful wife for the Hospitality during my stay in LA.We were also able to shoot a DVD which will be the first of iys kind with a lot of old rare footage of the old Garrote Masters and an Instructional part showing the basics of Footwork and other aspects of Garrote.It will really show for the first time what Garrote is about.During my trip to California I had the opportunity to share with that wonderful group of people who studied with the late Maestro Sonny Umpad.that was in Oakland,I then went to Fresno where I met a wonderful \\Filipino ,Master Ramiro Estalilla who showed the intricacies of Kabaroan Eskrima and who also analyzed with me the roots of Garrote.In Miami I met with a Modern Arnis group led by Tony Torres and we had a small Woirkshop as well.All in all,a wonderful journey where I met many wonderful people and made many new friends,Oh,and I shouldnt forget the Hospitality of Joe Tan who also showed me the realities of Tapado.So much to learn,so much to share.I look forward to meeting all these wonderful guys again in the near future.BestBrunoPS Special Thanks to my training partners for the DVD

When we made the decision to shoot this DVD, already there were several projects in the pipeline:

1) Die Less Often 3: EH vs. Knife-- and this may turn into TWO DVDs, one focused specifically on the Kali Fence and one on the Dog Catcher;2) Emergency Medicine, featuring our own Dog Dean;3) Kali Tudo 2; 4) the Dog Brothers movie-- no I am not saying the movie will be completed before turning to the Garrote Venezolano, but I am saying that this project too will place its demands on our time.